KEELE AND SANTANDER UNIVERSITIES UK SIGN NEW PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

A new three year partnership agreement between Keele and Santander Universities UK was signed during a special ceremony in Keele Hall yesterday.

Santander Universities Global Division began its activity in the UK in 2007 and since then they have signed agreements with many universities. Through these agreements they provide funding for scholarships, mobility grants, special projects and non-academic achievement awards.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, said: "We have seen two and a half years of a positive and very successful relationship already, with real benefits for students who have been able to travel abroad for scholarship and experience – we are looking forward to the next stage of the partnership with further opportunities for our students, graduates and researchers."

Luis Juste, Director of Santander Universities UK, said: "Keele was always one of the key universities that we wanted to work with. We want to increase the number of grants available so that UK students can have the global experience – thank you for allowing us to extend our agreement with Keele."

Santander Keele Student Scholars Jessica Hearne, who went to Mexico and Colombia to study alternative medicine and social care, and Sarah Iqbal, who went to Ecuador to study healthcare and education (HIV and AIDS), shared their experiences, delivering presentations to a large audience in the Salvin Room, including interns and companies involved in the Santander Internship Scheme.

INAUGURAL DINNER FOR KEELE COLLEGE OF FELLOWS

An inaugural dinner was held in Keele Hall last night for the new Keele University College of Fellows. The College of Fellows is a distinguished group of high profile, actively engaged supporters of the University.  The College will not have any executive powers but will serve as a vehicle for the University to draw on a range of expertise and opinion formers who can help shape and influence our reputation and support our development across a range of stakeholder groups.

Members to be admitted to the College of Fellows during this summer's graduation ceremonies are:

Gaye Blake-Roberts: Chair of the Raven Trust at Keele and Director of the Wedgwood Museum; Jonty Bloom: A Keele graduate who is Economic and Europe Correspondent for BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight programme; Emma Bridgewater: Founder and owner of Emma Bridgewater Pottery Ltd; Sinéad Butters: A Keele graduate and now Chief Executive of Aspire Housing; Karen Dobson: Principal of Newcastle-under-Lyme College. Karen graduated with an MBA from Keele in 1999; Ian Dudson CBE: Pro-Chancellor of Keele University (2004–2012) before being appointed HM Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire.  He is Chairman of the family ceramic company Dudson; Ann Fisher: Former lay member of the University Council and Deputy Pro-Chancellor; Eric Hassall CBE: A lay member of the University Council from 1995–2008, and Deputy Pro-Chancellor from 2003-2008. He is currently Chair of Keele University Science and Business Park Limited; Mike O'Connor CBE: Mike is a graduate of Keele. After a career is government and voluntary sectors, Mike has most recently held chief executive roles at the Olympic Lottery Distributor and the Millennium Commission; Pritpal Singh Nagi: A distinguished North Staffordshire businessman and entrepreneur who served as a lay member of the University Council from 2008–2012; Phil Soar:  A former member of the University Council, he graduated from Keele in 1969. He is currently Chairman of a number of companies, including Connaught Square Freehold Limited; Lord Stafford: Served as Chair of Council and Pro Chancellor of Keele for 10 years (1993–2003);  Dame Jo Williams DBE: A Keele graduate who was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (2009) in recognition of her contribution to social work and disability services; Sara Williams: Chief Executive of the North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

Members of the College of Fellows are pictured above with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, right, and Pro-Chancellor, Malcolm Peckham, left. 

THE MATHEMATICS OF WAVES – INAUGURAL LECTURE

Professor Julius Kaplunov, Mathematics, this week gave the last lecture in Keele University's programme of Inaugural Professorial Lectures for 2012-13.

A leading international authority in Continuum Mechanics and Wave Propagation, Professor Kaplunov's lecture, "Mathematics of Waves: from Earthquakes to Metamaterials", looked at mathematical modelling of wave phenomena arising from various real world problems, including non-destructive testing of naval airspace and civil structures, the fabrication of advanced metamaterials, and the prediction of earthquakes and tsunami. He also examined the importance of a multiparameter, asymptotic approach which demonstrates the elegance and efficiency of the underlying mathematics.

Professor Kaplunov is pictured with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Fosket, and Dean of Natural Science and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pat Bailey.

INSPIRE FUNDED SUMMER STUDENTSHIPS AT THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

The first round of summer studentships at the Keele School of Medicine was awarded under an INSPIRE grant supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences and Wellcome Trust.  With additional support from the Health Faculty, School of Medicine, and the research institutes of Science and Technology in Medicine and Primary Care & Health Sciences, a total of just under £6,500 was awarded over seven projects.

The following groups and projects were funded:
Aditya Narain and Professor Robert McKinley: Initial development of a questionnaire to examine drivers of medical student career choices; Arani Vivekanantham, Dr Samantha Hider, Dr Joanne Protheroe & Dr Sara Muller: Evaluating on-line health information for patients with polymyalgia rheumatic; George Tancock and Dr Rachel Berkson: Sequencing the Cysteine-Rich Region of PLAC8, a Novel Cancer Regulator; Gurvin Chander, Dr Nikki Kuiper, Dr Nick Forsyth & Tina Dale: Characterisation of stem cells for cartilage cell therapy; Jaspal Cheema and Dr Sarah Hart: Chemical Proteolysis as a New Proteomics Tool; Jessica Spalding, Dr Sarah Yardley and Dr Gill Clifford: What can children teach us? An exploration of how children using hospice services can contribute to undergraduate medical education and service development and Nicholas Ellerby and Dr Ed Roddy: Does intra-articular corticosteroid injection in the pre-operative period increase the risk of joint infection following hip or knee arthroplasty? A systematic review.

A conference bursary scheme is also supported by the award, along with an annual research showcase to be held on 27 November, where medical students will have the opportunity to present research findings from studentship and intercalation projects. The INSPIRE programme is led by Dr Divya Chari (ISTM) and Dr Samantha Hider (PCHS), and its initiatives form part of the SoM's drive to evolve the medical research component of the medical curriculum and train the next generation of medical researchers.

Pictured are Robert McKinley, Sarah Hart, Samantha Hider with students Aditya Narain and Jessica Spalding.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Under the AHRC Connected Communities Programmes, Keele Management School in collaboration with the New Vic Theatre hosted a two day interactive workshop on 'Bridging the gap between theory and practice'.
 
The workshop was opened by Professor Harry Scarborough, KMS Director, and featured academic and practitioner speakers from the UK, France, Poland and Romania.  More than 40 participants attended the event representing academia, community organisations and individual members.  Sue Moffat, New Vic Borderlines Director, hosted and facilitated the second day which saw a great deal of artistic creativity from the participants and resulted in the creation of an interactive audio-visual installation which will be showcased at the AHRC Showcase Event in Edinburgh in July and in Japan in November. 

The workshop is the result of an AHRC collaboration between Keele (Mihaela Kelemen, PI, and Anita Mangan, CI), Open University, Brunel University and Edinburgh University as well as New Vic Theatre, Glass House Community Led Design and Mondo Challenge Foundation.

PRINCE MEETS INDUSTRIAL CADETS

During a visit to North Staffordshire, the Prince of Wales headed to the Co-operative Academy of Stoke-on-Trent to meet with Industrial Cadets.

Twelve students from Haywood Engineering College and the Co-operative Academy in Stoke-on-Trent have graduated as Industrial Cadets after taking part in projects with a number of local organisations, including Keele. Through 'Industrial Cadets' school pupils find out more about local industry, in particular learning about career opportunities in manufacturing and how the science and maths subjects they study are applied in the commercial world. The students from years 8 and 9 have been working with a consortium of companies on a series activities which allow them to gain an understanding of the different aspects of a business, from R&D and production to finance and marketing. The students worked with Michelin Tyre PLC, Dudson, Seddon, McCamley UK Ltd, and Keele.  This consortium was co-ordinated through the Business in the Community Connect programme, and included companies of a range of sizes from local SME's to major international corporations.

Peter Hooper, pictured with Prince Charles, said "The industrial cadets scheme is an important initiative in encouraging young people to understand the many exciting career opportunities in manufacturing industry.  It has been a pleasure in working alongside one of Keele's Science Park companies, local colleges and business partners in demonstrating the wealth of routes to a successful career in industry - vital if we are to raise local aspirations and revitalise the economy."

AHRC SHOWCASES KEELE RESEARCH PROJECT

A Keele research project has been highlighted in a recent Arts and Humanities Research Council publication designed to showcase the importance of arts and humanities approaches to health and wellbeing research. The publication was launched at a parliamentary event organised by Research Councils UK and POST (Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology). The interdisciplinary collaborations initiated by the research network, 'Late Life Creativity and the New Old Age: Arts & Humanities and Gerontology in Critical Dialogue'  were described as 'pioneering' by Dr Pia Kontos, a research scientist from the Toronto Rehabilitiation Institute, University of Toronto. The network was organised by Professor David Amigoni (English, RI Humanities), pictured, and Professor Gordon McMullan (English, King's College, London). Details of the parliamentary event and the publication can be accessed at:
http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/News-and-Events/News/Pages/Paliamentary-Event.aspx

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ARTICLE FOR PROJECT STUDENT

Chris Halford who conducted his third experimental project under the supervision of Dr Mirna Mourtada-Maarabouni, ISTM, has published his work in Bioscience Horizons: the International Journal of Student Research.  The publication is entitled: Preliminary investigation of the effects of silencing the non-coding RNA, NEAT1, on the Burkitt's lymphoma cell line BJAB.  Bioscience Horizons (2013) 6: hzt006.  (http://biohorizons.oxfordjournals.org/content/6/hzt006.full.pdf+html).

Chris graduated with a first class honours degree in Biomedical Science from Keele.  He currently has a place to study medicine at the University of Liverpool and his future aspirations include entering the medical field and eventually participating in biomedical and clinical research.

KARATE CLUB CAPTAIN GOES INTERNATIONAL

Following Keele AU Karate Club's success in hosting of one of the largest international karate events in April, club captain Inés Brewer has hit the international karate scene.

Inés travelled to Nykarleby in Finland for the Finnish international karate summer camp.

The course on Jiyu Ippon Kumite (semi-free sparing) was attended by delegates from all over Europe and overseen by International Karate Legend, 84-year-old Master Mitsusuke Harada Sensei, MBE, pictured with Inés.

Inés said: "..the course was very tough but a fantastic experience and I was proud to represent and fly the flag for Keele University AU Karate club. Hopefully it will inspire some of the Keele club members to go for it in the future!"
 
Anyone is interested in learning karate and joining the club should email au.karate@keele.ac.uk or call the senior instructor Mark on 07873328200.

COINCIDENTAL CRIMINOLOGY

When a group of Year 12 students from Walford and North Shropshire College visited campus this week for a master-class on Criminology, Walford lecturer Sara Shelston  and  master-class deliverer, Dr Clare Griffiths (Keele Lecturer in Criminology) realised that their paths had crossed before.

Although they had been liaising with each other via e-mail and through Recruitment, Outreach and Access, due to marital name changes, they didn't realise that Sara had actually taught Clare at the college a few years before.

In the Master-class students carried out an interactive session on Criminology with a focus on the representation of criminals in the media. Sara Shelston said, "I was impressed with Keele's approach to outreach. We had a fantastic session with Dr Griffiths and the Keele Student Ambassadors were great with the students – they took us on a tour of the campus covering a range of issues from spooky stories of Keele's past, the £6 million expansion of the University and practical issues, such as details on the 24 hour library and campus living accommodation. This is so useful for our AS students."

Clare and Sara are pictured with students from the college.

PRESTIGIOUS SENIOR LECTURESHIP

Dr Kika Konstantinou, a physiotherapist and clinical academic based at the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre and the Haywood Hospital, pictured, has been awarded a prestigious Senior Clinical Lectureship by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

This award provides support for sustained personal and clinical academic development at a high level.

Dr Konstantinou's award will also facilitate high quality physiotherapy research and leadership in clinical practice as well as develop further research capacity within allied health professionals. Her research focuses on back pain and sciatica.

She is currently leading the first primary care clinical observational cohort of patients with back and leg pain including sciatica and/or suspected sciatica (the ATLAS study; Konstantinou K et al (2012) in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2012, 13:4).

The study will describe the characteristics of patients with sciatica and suspected sciatica and identify the key factors that predict clinical outcomes over 12 months.

The award will support Dr Konstantinou over the next five years.

KEELE IMPROVES GREEN LEAGUE POSITION

Keele was ranked 59 out of 143 participating universities for its environmental and ethical performance in The People & Planet Green League 2013.

The University's final score was 37.5 out of 70 points, giving Keele an Upper Second Class (2:1) 'degree'.

Professor Pat Bailey, PVC for Environment & Sustainability and Dean of Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: "We're very pleased to have retained our 2(i) 'award', and to have improved our league position to be in the top 60.

"Of course, we would like to have achieved a 1st class 'award', but the way the GLT is calculated does disadvantage universities like Keele with older buildings and a large estate.

"We have scored exceptionally well in areas relating to sustainable education, and we will be working hard to improve our performance across all areas over the coming years.

"It has been great to see the commitment and enthusiasm for sustainability issues in both the staff and the students, so I am confident that the University's reputation as an exemplar of environmental practice will continue to grow."

PRO VICE-CHANCELLOR EDUCATION AND STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Professor Fiona Cownie, Professor of Law in the School of Law, will, subject to formal approval by Senate and Council, take up the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and the Student Experience) on 1 September for a period of five years, in succession to Professor Marilyn Andrews.

ARNOLD BENNETT CONFERENCE

John Shapcott, Honorary Research Fellow, RI Humanities, pictured, and Professor David Amigoni, English, gave papers at the Annual Arnold Bennett Conference, organised by the Arnold Bennett Society, last weekend.

Extending Bennett's reputation as the novelist of 'The Five Towns', the event, at the North Staffordshire Conference Centre, Hartshill, focused on the author's extensive fictional and non-fictional writings about London and other European capital cities associated with the literary movement of Modernism.

The conference also celebrated the formal launch of John Shapcott's new Churnet Valley edition of Bennett's Modernist masterwork, Riceyman Steps, published exactly ninety years ago in 1923.

PUBLIC LECTURE IN GERMANY

Pnina Werbner, Professor Emerita in Social Anthropology, was invited to present a public lecture in the Summer Colloquium Lecture Series on '"Citizenship" Today' of the Max Planck Institute for Antrhopological Research at Halle, Germany.

The topic of her lecture was 'Multicultural Citizenship: deconstructing a stereotypical paradigm.'

This followed a keynote address Professor Werbner was invited to present at the AHRC-funded international conference at Glasgow University on 'Sufism and Salafism'.

Her keynote topic was 'Transnationalism and Trans/Regional Cults: The Dialectics of Sufism in the Plurivocal Muslim World'.

Professor Werbner  also co-convened a Wenner-Gren funded international conference at the Aga Khan University in London on: 'Beyond the Arab Spring: the Aesthetics and Poetics of Popular Revolt.'

KEYNOTE IN PORTUGAL

Gordon Fyfe, Sociology and Criminology, was invited to join museum researchers and curators at the Institute of the History of Art, the New University of Lisbon, for a government sponsored two-day conference on the history of Portuguese museums.

He was asked to talk about his work on the historical sociology of British museums and presented a keynote paper called Stories, Documents and Methodologies: the socio-genesis of British museums.

LAND'S END TO JOHN O'GROATS - CHARITY CYCLE RIDE

Peter Hooper, Research and Enterprise Services, starts his Land's End to John O' Groats cycle marathon for charity this weekend.

With his brother-in-law Joe, they will be covering the 1000 miles over two weeks, averaging about 70 miles a day.

Peter's progress can be followed at the following links:
https://twitter. com/peteslejog or
https://www. facebook.com/ PeteLEJOG.